Meat slicer



July 28, 1942. E. G. sTREcKFUss ETAL 2,291,260

MEAT SLICER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 27, 1938 ATTORNEYS.

July 2s, 1942.

E. G. STRECKFUSS ETAL MEAT sLIcER Filed July 27, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2$5 s. NPV, R x u wes n NEN n gf QZ. GE

G Maf L EM.

July 28, 1942-. I E. G. sTREcKl-'Uss ET AL MEAT SLCER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lN VE N TORS, refe/Fass Filed July 27, 1938 ATTORNEYS.

Patented July 28, 1942 MEAT SLICER Elmer G. Streckfuss and George A.Lensky, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignors to The Cincinnati Time RecorderCompany, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application July 27,1938, Serial No. 221,572

6 Claims. (Cl. 146-102) i Our invention relates to meat slicers of theslice adjusting abutment plate type, and has as its objects theimprovement of the same in a number of respects.

In particular our invention relates to the meat carriage and meat clamparrangements. In meat slicers in which the knife guard projects over theknife from above and thus blocks the path of any high object which ismoving across the knife, it is desirable to avoid the positioning of themeat pusher and clamp device in a position Where it will strike theknife guard. However, such a meat pusher and clamp device should bemovable to a position when cutting low pieces of meat so that it willproject into a position which, if raised as to the higher level, Wouldin fact strike the knife guard. Provision is made in our improvementsfor the desirable action above noted.

Also in a meat clamp and pusher Where energized by a spring and mountedon the meat carriage, it has been the practice heretofore of mountingthe pusher arm on a slide means on the meat carriage and the pusherenergizing means applied to the pusher arm bearing portion overlying theslide means. vAlso the pusher energizing means was used to latch thepusher in inoperative position. Tov get suicient travel of the pusherplate, the space between the pusher arm slide bearings was shortened tothe point` Where considerable binding occurred at the slide means whenthe arm Was pulled back against the spring means. To reduce this bindingaction anti-friction means, such as ball bearings or rollers, Wereincorporated in the arm bearings.

Since the pressure against the pusher plate,

when pushing a substance towards the knife, was at some distance removedfrom the slide means, an appreciable amount of binding force Was presentalso, hence a pusher energizing' means of greater force was required.

Thus it is desirable,rst, to have the pusher energizing means at thepusher end of the arm where it would be at the operating handle and ator near the center of load on the pusher plate, thus eliminating thetendency to bind; secondly, Widely spaced bearings at the pivoting endof the pusher arm with a second spring means of greater compressiveresistance` than the first for latching the arm in inoperative position.Our improved device provides for this functioning of the meat clamp.

We also provide for a simple manner of holding the meat clamp in idleposition and provide ed directly on the back of the plate itself whichis simple and convenient.

Our resulting meat clamp structure is one in which the handle or vgriptherefor extends cross- Wise of the carriage and directly mounts theclamp or pusher, thus providing a very convenient arrangement formanually actuating the carriage.

In the general arrangement and structure for guarding the knife, We havebuilt in a knife Sharpener attachment which is built into the back knifeguard casting and is operated by buttons entirely from the rear of theknife, the structure being very easy to get at Without danger to theoperator due to proximity of the sharp edge of the knife.

We accomplish our objects by Athat certain construction and arrangementof -parts to be hereinafter more specifically pointed vout by means of aspecific example, the novelty inherent in which will be set forth in theappended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of the slicer from thecarriage side.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2 2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detail of the latch for the meat clamp and pusher arm onthe line 3--3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a detail taken from the bottom of the parts shown in Figure3.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the meat slicer from the motor side.

Figure 6 is a perspective of the slicer from the motor side.

Figure 7 is a detail of the deflector plate latching device.

Figure 8 is a perspective View of the grinder attachment unit.

Figure 9 is a perspective of the machine with the meat carriage removed.

Figure 10 is a detail section on the push grinder mounting.

Figure ll is a like section of the pull grinder mounting.

Figure 12 is a detail of the upper adjustable mounting in the knifeguard member.

Figure 13 is a View from the under side of the knife guard adjustablemounting.

Figure 14 is a detail section of the meat pusher mounting.

The machine has a main casting whichincludes the base l beneath the meatcarriage, the meat receiving tray portion 2, the motor receiving housing3. The cutting knife 4 has its for the handle on the pusher plate beingmount- 55 shaft mounted in bearings 5 mountedv in a por- Vsplit i bosstion of the main casting, and a pulley 6 whereby it is driven from abelt 'I from the motor. A dome shaped deflector plate 8 is hinged at 9to the main casting, and has a spring pin latch I|J which engages alarge headed screw IDa. also set into the casting to hold this casing inclosed position -frctionally.

The slice adjusting plate, the adjustments for which have not beenillustrated, is shown at and the meat carriage is illustrated as havingthe" meat carriage plate I2 and a depending bracket I3 and slide bracketI 4 whereby it is mounted to slide on the guide rods 44a. Thehhandleforadjusting the slice adjustingfplatef-is; .shown-j at I5, the same beingmounted 'inthe `carriag'eiba'semember I.

The meat clamp and pusher.. device is mounted on the meat carriage plateso as to move'therewith. This device consists of the arm'l, which is.mounted to slide over a rod I1 held between a pair'of lugs l'l'a `onthe'nne*si'dedof'thfmeat carriage. plate. A spring'I8 rtendsitohold-"the hollow v,cylindricalH portion "|9`fof' thearm `which liesYover'the rod l'lin a position V,toward 'the'knife The portion I9' hasVa stud therein asatvr 20; which stud"w,illfswing 'toa position=behind aslotted plate 2|, therebysholding the arml againstmovement. VThe plate2| (Figures 3 and 4) is' mounted 'on therbracket portion `22- on rtheoutside ofthe meat lcarriage plateA wall'- and hasai rectagular notch init as indicated at 23. Y Y

4VWhen the arm IE is Apulled back-v against the lspring |8; raisedupwardly to the position indicated-in the-Figure 1, and thenreleased,-the springv |8 `will'push the portion I9 towards the knife until thestud 20 has engagedfthe notch 23.

thereby holding `the-arm: against movement. `The notch andthe 'stud areso 'locatedthat fwhenthe arm lis in 'latched position the pusherandfclamp `will-"not strike the knife'or Yits guards in-any positionfofthe carriage. -In Figure l; the position of the armwhenlowered'andout'oflatched position is shown in dotted lines. 1In'thelower and out Voflatched position of the arm 16, the spring slides theportion I9 until its end nearest thestud v2li overlies theupwardly'slantdliplZd of the notched plate. They upward edge ofthe lip24, the stud 20; andthe lug Haare supositioned that when the -arml I is`in theaout-of -latch position the pusher and clamp plate `will notstrike the knife or its guards in anyposition of the carriage. Y 1

The outer end of the arm I6 is formed-as a clamp screw Ib, a tube 25that servesinternally as a.V guide for the vpusher plate mounting. lInto the outer end of this tube 25 is threaded a screw 25 which-has aspringA guide pin '21**pr'ofjecting therefrom, the screwserving lasVaspring abutment. The inner end ofthe tube vis curled outwardly andequipped with a fast collar 28 which may beknurled onit's 'exposed'face. Mounted on the pusher plate 29, which may be'pronged to act as aclamp also, isa hollow handle portion 30 which-is-usedto-manipulate-boththe pusher plate and the entire carriage.

Into the socketat the `inner endl of thehandle is Vpressed a slide tube3| within which is' housed the spring 32 which extends throughV thistube and thence through the-tube 25,'being1guided =by thefpin-oi@ rodportion 2'! within the latter tube. 'The vhandle :portion' 3! has a'threaded "sleeVe' 33 vscrewed in itsouter end. and locked by a set:screw,` .which sleeve does no trvbear as a guide |6a into which isclampedf-by the on the outside of the tube, but serves as an abutmentwith the collar 28 on the tube 25. The inner face of this sleeve can beknurled to ratchet against the knurled face of the collar 28.

The tube 3| bears within the tube 25, and the handle slides on thistelescopic arrangement as a bearing. a'lhus, lubricant-for the slidingac- .tion'is located inside of thefpartv and does not drip out orcontaminate the hands of the operator in manipulating the handle.

This arrangement of handle is Very desirable, even if the spring beomitted. The handle, carrying thewpusher plate directly, slides on theV-.hingedsa-rmfandkis used by the operator very readilyto hold-thevpusher against the meat, and at thefsametime move the carriage to andfro to slice the meat. There is no hinging action of thefpusherrplateand no binding of parts or diicultyfin simultaneously pushing the meatand. pushing thertray.

Y A knobv 33a mounted on the forward' wall oi-the -meat ftray is fprovided forv operatingthercarriage "meat, orl'else "the spring' 32-maynbeffoniitted :and

the operator push the handle overhamanually. When the pusher plate isreleased'llehindl'the meat, the .spr-ingr will-l push ".the arm forwardas soon. Aasfthe handle r-is released, .so' vthat Vforiithe distance`o-the: movement. of the cylindrical porf tioniofthe arm, the-:spring.is1called1ipon forno duty. "llhereafterithe 4clampiplate ismoved'i byythe spring .or manually. as described above.

i W hen theicarriage'; has beentraversed :to` and `fro :until the; lastlcut. has .'beenfmada the handle of the.`platefistfgraspedgtheplatetfpulledback ,readilyragainstrth forceofthespringnuntilithe .shoulder abuts-agains't.the'atubetace. The same iwhereupon the arm camberswung initbehindl the notched plate:.thatffserves'to; .latchi it back. fIn this positionY the handle`cantbe released'r and the .meat platewillzmove `forwardzto. azpo'sitionshown fini FigureV 2::fwhichz1will :permit :it-: tofcleari. theogua'rdsabout thersknife.

vReferringfnext. to; the; knife: guard` and .shar-p. ening featuresof'vourinventiongrwe Lprovide .as the principal; knife guardL a esemi-'annular n shaped 1 member .'of Schannelfform, indicated at`itt-having Yaledge at ther-lower rend. `A`'Iheropening lin the ringisfatthespace wherethe knife is exposed rfor outtingmas indicated inFigure l-for example.

"Onto this 'ring 'shaped Ichannel guard vis screwed the*Y face `guard,plate 35. f The imouriting-of the rearward lower -edges Jof thei. ledgezportion of member 34 there is mounted a plat36-bymeans of two screws3'|,onerof `which operates in a'slot T38 'of Vthe plate',`thus Lmak-ingrit adjustable on the otherscrewas aY-pivot. l The-outer endof each ofthe plates has a hole 39 therein which, when the guard is mounted isplaced on the studs 40 set in the main casting. Two externally threadedthimbles 4| slotted at the end for the insertion of a screw driver asindicated at 4ta are adjustable in the member 34 and locked in positionby the lock nut 42. 'I'he two thumb screws 43, which screw into theinternally threaded portion of the thimbles, hold the member in positionagainst the rear guard housing.

By adjusting the position of the thimbles the position of the upper partof the housing may be accurately determined with relation to the guard.This is important because the Sharpener devices are mounted on thishousing portion so as to make a unit construction.

Referring then to the Sharpener devices (Figures 5, 8, 10, 11, and 12),we provide for attachment at the back of the knife of a casing orhousing 44. This housing has a stud 45 thereon which drops into a boss46 on the supporting casting at the back of the knife, and has a strap41 which is used as a clamp, being equipped with two thumb screws 48whereby it is adjusted from the outside of the housing. The supportingcasting has an upstanding lug 49, which is straddled by the central partof the strap on the inside, while the housing is located outside of thelug. By tightening the thumb screws the strap is brought rmly againstthe lug, thus clamping the housing in place. The lug prevents thecasingr from turning about the pin and the socket arrangement thereforis such as to enforce a directly upward movement in mounting anddismounting the housing. This avoids marring the knife edge by strikingit with the grinding wheels since these are raised free of the knifebefore the pin is out of its socket.

Thus there are two holes formed in the housing, the one for the frontside grinding wheel 52 and the other for the back side grinding wheel53. The wheels52 and 53 have spindles 52a and 53a in sleeves 52h, 5317which have collars 54 thereon, the collars held slidably-but notrotatably in the holes aforesaid. These collars, to this end, have pinsin them as at 55 which lie in slots 56, in the inner ends of the bossessurrounding the holes. The wheels are rotatable on their spindles.

In both cases finger buttons 51 are provided which are slidably insertedin the holes from the outside and threaded onto the ends of the sleeves,springs 58 surround the sleeves and bear on the buttons, and stopcollars 59 are pressed into the holes in the casting, against which thesprings bear. In the instances of the front grinder wheel the stopcollar is located near the inner end of the holes and restricts theoutward movement of the sleeve and operating button. In the instance ofthe back grinding wheels the stop collar is near the outer end of thehole and restricts the inward movement of the sleeve (see Figures and 11respectively).

'Ihe result of this construction is that when the housing is in place,the two grinder wheels will be arranged one on each side of the knife inproper adjustment. When it is desired to grind the knife the front sidegrinding wheel is pulled in against the knife and the back side grindingwheel is pushed in against the knife. It may be observed that thisconstruction provides for a less number of parts than would normally berequired because, to a large extent, the parts are the same for eachgrinder, and the arrangement is all that is changed. Also the mountingof the grinders as a. unit with the back knife guard housing membermakes for simplicity, and the two grinders are both operated from theback of the knife thus avoiding the operator reaching across the top ofthe knife with possible consequent danger of cutting himself if his handslips.

We have not attempted to illustrate alternative constructions in theparts hereinabove described, and they are intended as illustrating theinventive features of our device which will be set forth in thefollowing claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a meat slicer having a traveling meat carriage, an arm mounted ona pivot at right angles to carriage movement, a projection on said armin the same general direction as said pivot and a meat pusher plate,said plate being slidably mounted on said projection to move to and fromthe position of pushing meat across the carriage, and a handle mountedon the pusher plate and extending telescopically over the saidprojection for manipulating the plate and also the carriage, saidprojection being tubular, and the slidable mounting of the platecomprising a tube sliding within said tubular portion.

2. In a meat slicer having a traveling meat carriage, an arm mounted ona pivot at right angles to carriage movement, a projection on said armin the same general direction as said pivot and a meat pusher plate,said plate being slidably mounted on said projection to move to and fromthe position of pushing meat across the carriage, and a handle mountedon the pusher plate and extending telescopically over the saidprojection for manipulating the plate and also the carriage, saidprojection being tubular, and the slidable mounting of the platecomprising a tube sliding within said tubular portion, and abutments onthe handle portion and on the tubular projection to serve as an outwardmovement stop for the pusher plate.

3. In a meat slicer the combination with a meat carriage of a meatpusher comprising means as an arm mounted on the carriage, a pusherplate, means for slidably mounting same to move with respect to said armmeans to and from a meat cutting point, spring means normally projectingthe plate toward the meat cutting point, the means for mounting the armmeans on the carriage comprising a slide, a spring urging the arm meanstoward meat cutting position on said slide and a latch arranged toengage said arm and retain it in elevated position retracted against thesaid spring action.

4. In a meat pusher, a pivotal support therefor, movable with a meatcarriage, spring means urging the support toward a cutting point, apusher plate slidably supported on the support, and spring means betweenthe plate and the support urging the pusher plate toward said cuttingpoint, said support including a latch for holding the arm against itsspring means, when retracted against the spring means and elevated, butwithout affecting the spring means for the pusher plate.

5. In a meat slicer the combination with a meat carriage of a meatpusher comprising means as an arm pivotally supported on the carriage, a

vpusher plate, means for slidably mounting the lsldablerfmountng :andrsprngfrmeansr comprising afhandlelmzthe'ba'ckfoffbheiplate, afslide rodiheld inline; armgmeans, rsadi :handle sliding 1 ont saidrod;andiasplixlglocatedV Within the handle and iheirod.

y 6; In ameat's'licerl thecombnat-on with a-meat carriage0OfLa'tmeaVpusher :comprising.meansV as an iarm" pivot'alysupportedv 'on.the carriage,` a Spusher plate, means for. sldablyrmountng the.

same to move withrespectto: said. arm means to Sandi from"r afimeat"cuttingspoint, vspring kmeans Cil in Alatched. l'position, said t'means`comprising a spring :urging the* arm ronthe' carriage toward the' meatcutting poinL-fa- 1ug-onthe arm,`V and a notched 'element arranged toengage the lugwhen r theffarm -means is =n raised; position.

ELMER z-G. "STRECKFUSS, r GEQRGE'TA..LENSKY.

